


Li Mancante

by DinoRoar



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Daddy Daryl, Daddy Dixon - Freeform, Daryl has a wife, Dixon Daddy, Gen, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, dixon family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-29 07:34:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 17,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6365056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DinoRoar/pseuds/DinoRoar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daryl Dixon had a wife and child before the apocalypse occurred. </p><p>But now, the family is separated and Daryl misses them more than anything. </p><p>This has now become a series of one-shots relating to Daryl, Nevara and Savana. Open to requested scenarios and interactions between characters, just put the request in a review. </p><p>Other one shots will be either added to this, or posted separately and turned into a collection.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Li Mancante

He missed them.

As he sat at the fire in front of the tent he shared with his brother gazing at the families scattered around the camp, he realised he missed his own family more than anything else in the world. He missed his wife, and he missed his little girl. But in his heart, Daryl knew they were still alive, Nevara would protect their daughter no matter what, it was in her nature to do so.

His wife was a fierce woman who refused to give up on anything, Nevara was stubborn and determined, and she had been her whole life. Daryl had been drawn in by her beautiful, yet mysterious olive green eyes framed with thick dark lashes. He missed running his hands through her thick black hair that reached her waist in the most perfectly wild curls. He missed being able to kiss her naturally pouting lips whenever he wished, and gazing at her soft, sun kissed skin. Her Italian heritage made his wife a naturally beautiful woman, and their angel of a daughter had taken after both of them.

Their adorable little girl Savana had inherited Daryl's bright blue Dixon eyes, mixed with Nevara's dark curly locks. With skin just a touch lighter than Nevara and a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. At the young age of 4, the girl was already beautiful. She was a mischievous thing that loved to get into all sorts of trouble, and then weave her way out of it. Savana was kind and gentle just like her mum, always playing with anyone in her play group. Yet she had clearly gained some of Daryl's less than desirable personality traits, as she had a habit of being exceedingly stubborn and had a tendency to become irritable over the smallest things.

More than anything Daryl wished he could hold his daughter in his arms again, listening to her talk about anything her imagination allowed her to think of. He wished he could tuck her into bed at night after reading a story she had picked out specifically for him because he could do the different voices better than Nevara could. He missed his wife and the time they would spend together alone, how he would explore her curvaceous body showing her how much he truly loved her, over and over again. He missed their conversations and how she took care of him, her massages and the packed lunches she would make and then drop off for him at work.

In this world that was now inhabited with the walking dead, he knew that the chances of seeing his wife and daughter once again were slim. But watching all the families that had not been torn apart like his made him envious. They had each other. And whilst he had his brother who missed his niece and sister in law as well, the drugs numbed Merle and his pain. But nothing helped Daryl. He had protected these clueless people from the city against walkers, so surely he of all people deserved to see his family again.

He missed them more than anything.


	2. La sua nascita

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one-shot is based off the birth of Dary and Nevaras daughter, Savana.

She was tiny.

At 5 pounds and 9 ounces his baby girl was so small and delicate. Daryl was terrified to touch her, he didn't want to hurt her or accidentally squash his sweet little daughter. His daughter, who was only twelve hours old, yet she already had him wrapped around her thumb. Daryl already felt protective of his angel, more so then he did when she was still safely cocooned inside of his wife.

But now she had been born and she needed to be protected from all the horrors of the world, she needed to be cared for and loved like he never had been. But Daryl was not his father, and although the worries were still there, he knew he could never harm a hair upon his daughters head. Not that Nevara would ever allow that to happen.

His fierce wife had finally fallen asleep due to the exhaustion brought on by long hours of labour. During which Daryl had been by her side for all of it, holding her hand and soothing her pain the best he could. Looking over at her now with strands of her hair stuck to her forehead and neck due to sweat, and bags under her eyes from lack of sleep, he realised she had never looked more beautiful to him then she did now.

Gently picking up his daughter he caressed her soft cheek and settled himself into the uncomfortable chair at his wife's bedside. He gazed down at his little girl, her head was covered with a soft wispy, layer of dark hair, and as Daryl began to stroke it the newborn awoke with a slight wine. Her eyelids opened revealing piercing bright blue eyes that Daryl knew would not change in colour as she got older. They matched his own eyes and his brothers eyes in colour.

Carefully loosening the pale pink blanket wrapped tightly around his daughter, Daryl reached down and touched the small fingers that were clenched in a fist and had been fighting against the blanket. The fingers slowly unfurled before grasping at the larger tanned index finger before the baby and brought it towards her slightly open mouth.

Daryl chuckled slightly before leaning down to place a gentle kiss upon her forehead. Looking at her, his daughter was a perfect mix of himself and his wife, an exotic beauty. He knew that Nevara needed more rest, and although their daughter was clearly hungry, he felt bad that he'd have to wake his wife even though she wouldn't mind. Nevara would happily never sleep again just to ensure their daughter was well cared for and looked after. Daryl just knew that Nevara would be the best mother possible, she had always been protective of children, and even volunteered at the local youth centre on some of her days off work. She was completely cut out for her new role, and Daryl knew that she would help him stumble his way through the next few months until he got the hang of fatherhood.

As Daryl attempted to keep the small baby occupied for a little while longer so Nevara could sleep for just a bit longer, she began to let out small cries for food. With a slight sigh he shifted his body and looked down at the precious little girl in his arms with a smile, as he prepared himself to wake up his tired wife.

"You're gonna' be trouble when you get older, aren't you Savana Grace. But don't you worry, daddy will always be here for you my little angel."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided to turn this into a series of one-shots based around Daryl, Nevara and Savana, but I may include some interactions with other characters. So feel free to request something for me to write and I'll try to do it. At the same time, I plan to also start up a multi chapter story about Daryl and his family before and during the apocalypse, so keep an eye out for that.


	3. Primo Bacio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are now onto our third one shot in the series of Daryl, Nevara and Savana. I have chosen to focus this piece on an interaction between Nevara and Daryl before they started to date.

Daryl was nervous. He hadn't felt nervous towards anything for a long time, so it was a new feeling for him. But Daryl didn't want to screw things up between Nevara and himself, he liked the woman. She had a lot of attitude and was pretty stubborn, and a huge bonus was that she was a total looker. His friends had called her a stunner when they had first seen her, and Daryl agreed. She was too good for a redneck like him, but for some reason she seemed to have enjoyed spending time with him. She liked to ask questions about how his day had been, and was generally interested in listening to him tell her.

They had mutually agreed to meet on a Wednesday lunchtime at the small diner in between their work places. Nevara loved the retro design of the place and they played music that the both of them could listen to and enjoy, mainly because they never played any pop or country music, just classic rock which was the pairs style.

"Hi there stranger." A familiar sultry voice, with a slight accent called out from the diner door. Daryl looked over and allowed a small smile to settle across his face at the sight of the woman he had grown rather fond of, Nevara.

"Hey there darlin', how was work?" Daryl called back softly, his voice huskier than usual at the sight of her walking towards him. He knew that technically Nevara was working from home, but some days she did go into her local news office. Nevara was a writer, and Daryl thought she was an amazing one at that. She had wrote multiple prize winning short stories under different aliases, and although writing novels and stories was clearly where her main talent lay, she was still brilliant at her 'day job'. Her main job, the one she was paid for, was to write segments for the Living section of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She mainly produced short, witty stories for this section, or wrote reviews for movies, concerts and books. Daryl liked to call her talented.

"It wasn't too bad, I had to head down to the headquarters to have a chat with my editor. He's thinking of having me write an actual full length story, and then each week a section of it will be in the paper. Apparently I've had some real great reviews lately." She sounded so giddy with excitement that Daryl knew nothing could bring her down from the high she was currently on.

"That's great sweetheart, I told you your writing is brilliant, you just got to believe in yourself a little more." He had a grin on his face as she started to dig into her slice of chocolate fudge cake with gusto. With a gentle smile he reached out and brushed some hair out of her face before dragging the slice of coffee cake in the middle of the table towards him.

"I know, I just sometimes have those days where I just doubt myself, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it hun, but your work is amazing and you shouldn't need anyone to have to tell you that. You should just know it." Daryl truly cared about Nevara, and knowing how anxious she could get about her work he tried to do anything he could to relieve some of her stress. Whether it was just reading through her work for her as a second pair of eyes, or taking her out into the woods for the day when it all became a bit too much. Daryl was always there for her.

"Thank you Daryl." She spoke softly as she reached forward and placed her hand over his and squeezed it, attempting to convey her emotions as best as she could towards him. But Daryl was confused, he hadn't done anything special, just told her the truth like he'd always done since they had met a few weeks ago and had become such fast friends.

"For what?"

"For, well, for everything. If it wasn't for you I don't think I would have been able to stick it out so long. You have helped me so much more than I think you'll ever know, and I wanted to thank you for that." And with that she lent across the table and brushed her lips across his cheek, which immediately became a light pink in colour.

"Uuuh, you're welcome I suppose. I mean it's the least I could do after you made me realize what I could do with my own talents. Without you I wouldn't be opening up my own company, which is terrifying,but will be completely worth while." He gently brushed the pad of his index finger across her cheek before leaning in and hesitantly placing a light kiss upon her lips.

As she let out a shocked gasp Daryl began to pull away from her, angry with himself that he had misread all the signs she had sent off. But before he could move fully back into his seat Nevaras hand flew up to the back of his head, grasping onto his light brown, almost blonde hair. She gently tugged him back towards her before placing her lips onto his with force for a few seconds. As they separated, Daryl planted a few more delicate kisses to her lips, before he finally moved back towards his chair.

As Daryl looked over to her with a happy, and slightly smug grin upon his face, she shyly glanced over to him from beneath her eyelashes making eye contact for a few moments before looking away with a small smile and a light giggle.

"So..." Daryl started looking a bit uncertain of himself now that he realised someone had to make the next move to avoid any awkwardness.

"So..." Nevara replied with a slightly nervous tone, as she glanced towards the table and tensed her shoulders, as if preparing for disappointment of some kind.

"So I guess I'll pick you up at seven on Friday then." He spoke with a hint of happiness in his voice as he began to shrug on his coat so that he could begin to make his way back to work for the rest of his shift, as his lunch break had come to an end.

"What for?" Nevara spoke with a confused tone to her voice, she hadn't realised they had made any plans, in fact she was certain they hadn't as she had prepared herself for a Friday evening filled with movies and copious amounts of ice cream. Daryl looked over to her with a grin on his face as he placed the money for their food, and a tip on the table surface before brushing a kiss across her forehead startling her. As he began to walk out of the diner he called parting words over his shoulder.

"For our date!"


	4. Mi Manca Lui

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is like the first one, but this one is from Nevaras point of view. Daryl may appear to be a bit OC, but it's how I'd imagine him to be if he had a family he loved. Enjoy!

She missed him.

She missed his hair and the way it awkwardly brushed his ears when he left it just a bit too long between his haircuts. She missed the way he would look at her, with love and adoration, as if she was his world, in the piercing blue eyes that she loved and missed so much. She missed his strong and well muscled arms, and the way he would wrap them securely around her when she had a bad day, just holding her without asking any questions. In the evenings she missed his toned body, and the way he'd press himself up against her when they were alone, before they then would make love to each other.

She missed the way Daryl would bring home a bouquet of purple Irises, her favourite flowers every week, without fail. She missed the way that he would play with Savana, teaching her all sorts of things he felt she would need to know in her life. How he would make sure that every evening he was home in time for their family dinner, and how when he was early, he would insist upon helping. And the way that he would read to Savana every night before bed, using different voices for each character just to make her laugh, before joining Nevara in their large bathtub.

Nevara missed his surprise dates and family outings that occurred at the drop of a hat, knowing that Daryl wanted Savana to have a better childhood then he could ever dream off. The way he would tenderly kiss her when he got home from work at the end of the day, as if to prove that he would never stop loving her. She loved the fact that Daryl could curl up with her and watch a movie that would make him cry, and still feel secure that his manliness was not being questioned.

She missed his whole presence, and his little snarky comments that he'd insert into conversations just to make her laugh, because he knew she found them funny. She found herself missing the way he would read her writing when she felt that it wasn't good enough. How he'd sit there in silence going over every sentence knowing how much it meant to her, even though he knew inside there were no flaws at all in her work.

Nevara wasn't the only one missing him though. Savana took every chance possible to look through the multiple photo albums they had manage to save, just so she could always remember what her daddy looked like. She would tell all sorts of tales about what he was up to while they were clearly apart, and Nevara would tell her about their adventures before she was born. Between the two of them, they had an abundance of memories to keep them going and to help them always remember what Daryl looked like. But for Savana, some of those memories would fade, and soon she wouldn't be able to remember what her daddy sounded like normally, or when he read her books with different voices, or how he smelt like fresh rain, the woods and a lingering scent of sawdust. But no matter what, Savana had still gotten to spend time with her daddy, she had always known that her daddy loved her and cherished her. 

But as Nevara gazed over at the sprawling fields of green ahead of her, she placed her hand over her lower stomach and slowly rubbed it gently, she realised their new baby would never know that. They wouldn't know that their daddy loved them, as he didn't even know about them. They would never know what it was like before the dead had began to walk, what their daddy sounded or smelt like, how much he would have loved them no matter what. The photos would help them know what he looked like, but they would never truly know Daryl. And that broke her heart more than their separation did. 

She needed her husband, she needed Daryl with her.

She missed him more than anything.

The three of them missed him, but only two of them realised it so far.


	5. Il Loro Volo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the fifth chapter/one shot of Li Mancante. I'm really happy with the outcome of this chapter, which is based around the aftermath of Daryl and Nevaras engagement, which will be wrote up in more detail at a later point. This chapter is mainly here for a bit of background information. I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to request any specific themes or ideas for chapters through reviews

Airports were not Daryl's thing. Sure, he'd been travelling to Italy with his girlfriend for the past few years now to visit her family. But the first time they had gone, Daryl had been searched multiple times by airport security before being allowed to board the plane with his girlfriend. And that being his first time ever going abroad had put a slight dampner on the whole experience for Daryl.

This would be his fourth time travelling to Italy with Nevara, the first had been at the beginning of their relationship, when they had been dating for only six months. But at that point Nevara had a good feeling about their relationship and had invited him along on her trip, her parents also wanted to meet him. Daryl ended up loving her family as if they were his own.

Daryl may have hated the process of getting his passport, especially having his photograph taken, and having to go through airport security. But he loved the flight, and he adored Italy. He found that Nevara and her family welcolmed him, and treated him as if he was family. They taught him all about their culture and some of the native language, all of which he fully embraced. He felt like he belonged with them.

He had spoken to Nevaras parents, Armorell and Giovanni, via Skype to discuss his plans and to ask her fathers permission, which he had happily given to Daryl. And now for the first time he was travelling to Italy with Nevara as his fiancee. He had proposed to her the previous weekend after watching her favourite show, The Lion King on Broadway, and then they shared a romantic meal together afterwards. They had toasted their engagement with champagne and chocolate coated strawberries at a nice and expensive hotel. All of which had happened while in New York.

They had been there so that Nevara could meet with a few publishers and editors interested in her newest piece of work, her first fiction novel. She hadn't made a final decision so far on who to sign with, but Daryl had a feeling she would end up going with Lionsgate, as they had knowledge of some of her previous newspaper articles which they had given some positive feedback on.

Nevara was absolutely thrilled with his proposal, she had been wanting to make their relationship as official as possible for a while, and the idea of legally binding themselves to each other made her giddy at the thought of being completely Daryls. She'd been brought up with the ideal of being married before starting a full family, and Nevara wanted children more than anything. She could barely contain her excitement as she continuously kept glancing down at the beautiful ring on her finger that Daryl had thoughtfully picked out for her, with a little bit of help from her mother and her sisters. It was perfect for Nevara and complimented her personality brilliantly, she loved it so much that she could barely stop her pout when security asked her to take it off as she had accidentally set off the metal detectors.

Nevara couldn't wait to get to Italy, her mother had already started to plan their engagement party, which would be filled with all of their extended family, even Merle would be flying out for a week to celebrate with them. Daryl had planned for theor engagement photographs to be taken on the beach her family lived next to as it was Nevaras favourite spot. Together they'd spent countless hours laying in the sand gazing up at the stars together whilst talking about random and mindless topics, setting thwm off laughing as they enjoyed each others presence.

As they finally boarded the plane Daryl grinned at the look of shock on his fiancée's face as they were directed towards the first class section of the plane instead of coach where they would usually sit. The flight attendant greeted them with a soft smile and two flites of champagne as Daryl had politely requested when upgrading their tickets a few weeks before. He had been very nervous when explaining why he needed their coach tickets Nevara had booked upgraded to first class, but the airline had been very happy to help. Gifting them a free bottle of champagne to share and upgrading their tickets at a discounted rate as an engagement gift, Daryl had been very happy at the end of the conversation.

As they settled into their seats, Nevara glanced over at Daryl with a soft smile and awed glint in her eyes. Daryl had always been a closet romantic, but she couldn't believe all the little things he'd done for this, he really pulled out all the stops for their proposal. She was so excited to tell her mother and her sisters about every little detail. Her father would definitely be proud of Daryl and the way he was treating her like a queen. Giovanni always felt his daughters should be treated like royalty, but they all knew that Nevara, his youngest child was his favourite of them all.

"All of our crew would like to express our congratulations to Dayl and Nevara on their recent engagement, and we'd like to wish you joy and happiness for you future life together." Claps and shoited congratulations rang out through the plane as Daryl and Nevara both blushed and laughed as they kissed each other gently and lovingly upon the lips. Nevara rested her head on Daryls chest, just above his heart, as he softly stroked her hair with his fingertips before placing another kiss on her forehead.l

"I love you darlin'" Daryl whispered into her ear as he nuzzled her neck.

"I love you too Daryl." She told him, as she placed a kiss over his heart.


	6. La Fotografia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl tells the group about his family.

His hands clenched tightly around the photograph. It was frayed and slightly worn in places due to continuous folding and unfolding. It had been stored safely inside of his leather wallet since before the dead began to roam the Earth again. Folded up and tucked away Daryl had only taken it out in rare moments of privacy while in his tent in the evening. But now. Now the group wanted to see what Daryl's family looked like, since he let the information that he had a family slip earlier on. Daryl smoothed the photo out with his rough and calloused fingers before tentatively passing it to Rick on his left.

The photo had only been taken a few months before the apocalypse, it showed all three of them together, looking like a perfect family. Daryl was bare chested and tanned in a pair of black board shorts that hung low on his hips, showing how surprisingly toned hi body was. He looked carefree with a grin on his face and his bright blue eyes shone with love and happiness as he gazed down at the woman beside him. Their arms wrapped around each others waist, and his hand rested protectively on her hip.

Her tanned face was framed with long, thick unruly black curls that reached her lower back, and her bright green eyes held a glint of mystery as she gave a full smile to the camera, her pearly white teeth sparkled. Her body was made up of alluring curves, with a small waist and long shapely legs. Her ample chest was covered with an emerald green halter neck bikini top, with matching bottoms that just covered her lower half.

Stood in front of the couple was a young girl holding on to a red bucket in one hand and a blue spade in the other. She too had bright blue eyes like Daryl, and long curly hair like Nevara, only a few shades lighter in colour. Like her mother, she had a smattering of freckles across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. She was looking at the camera with a wide grin, showing off the small gap between her top two middle teeth, and a missing tooth from her bottom row. Like her parents, she was dressed appropriately for the weather and therefore, swimming. An aqua blue swimming costume with a tutu style bottom section.

They were clearly on a beach, as shown by the light golden sand and the bright blue-green ocean behind them. The sky was a clear and pale shade of blue, and the scorching sun was shining brightly down upon them.

"Merle took it about six month ago when we were in Italy visiting family on Nevara's side," Daryl spoke softly, deeply immersed in his memories.

"Wow, Italy. How could you afford that?" Lori was intrigued. Yet her voice held a slight envious tone to it as she looked over the photograph. She and Rick could never afford t anywhere other than camping with Carl. Bar that one attempt at seeing the Grand Canyon when he had been little, they just never had the time.

"We used to spend two weeks there every year," he spoke quietly, "I owned my own construction business which was pretty successful and brought in more than enough on its own. But Nevara, she was an author. Had her own book series, and wrote for a magazine too, both were pretty popular."

There was clear pride in his voice as Daryl spoke of his wife and her achievements, and a few jaws dropped at the realisation of his success. It was clear that Daryl wasn't the dumb hick they had all thought he was, it was a very carefully laid out cover up. A mask. He played the part perfectly, made them think that he was only useful for his hunting and nothing else, when in fact beneath it all, he was a hell of a lot smarter than they knew.

"You clearly did very well for yourself. And your wife is stunning by the way." Jacqui had a soft smile on her face as she carefully handed back the photograph to Daryl once it had made its way around the group and they'd all seen it.

"Your daughter is too. She seems to be a perfect mix of the both of you, but she definitely has your eyes," Dale added, causing a soft smile to play at the corner of Daryl's lips as he gently stroked the photograph once again.

"We'd just started talking about trying for another baby," his voice had taken on a permanent soft tone to it, as he for once volunteered information about himself, "we both thought it was about time we added on a new member of the family." He sounded sad, and almost embarrassed about it now.

"Did you want a boy this time or another girl?" Andrea asked, speaking for the first time.

"Didn't really think about it that way. All we wanted was a happy and healthy little baby." A smile was on his face as he spoke showing the excitement he had felt at the possibility of becoming a father for a second time. Yet he was clearly still upset over the lost possibility.

"Do you know where they were when the outbreak started?" Rick asked Daryl carefully, wary of his temper, "we could see about trying to track them down." Rick felt like he had failed Daryl when he left Merle behind, causing him to lose his own brother, and what he thought was the last member of his family. Rick knew he at least owed Daryl the chance to find out what had actually happened to his wife and daughter.

"They were in some bookstore in Atlanta. Nevara agreed to do a few big book signings there, I stayed home to oversee a project and I was supposed to go and join her a few days later to look after Savana while Nevara spoke with her publisher, she flew down from New York so they could discuss her next book tour." Daryl explained, the feeling of guilt overwhelming him. He knew he should have been there for his wife during the multiple book signings, he knew how important they had been for his wife to meet as many of her fans as possible. The fact that she was still able to go, even after feeling ill for a few months previous to the event was a miracle in itself. But Nevara had always been extremely dedicated to her fanbase, and some evenings she would stay up night writing out replies for her fan mail. She would make sure that each reply was unique and personal to the individual that sent it. It was just who she was.

"Would she have holed up somewhere? You know, stay in a building and scavenge the surrounding buildings for the pair of them?" Glenn tried to get involved with the conversation, while also thinking of any bookshops he may have passed with large displays on book signings, it would help to narrow down their possible location.

"Nah, she's smart. Nevara would of got Savana and herself out of here and into a less populated area as soon as she figured out what was going on." Daryl was certain. He knew that Nevara wouldn't be in the city anymore, she would have worked out the problems that could occur with small children in areas dense with humans and walkers alike. The city was a feeding ground now.

"Why would she leave a city with people to go out on her own, surely there's more safety in numbers?" Carol questioned, making it see like Nevara had no clue what she was doing to protect herself and their daughter. But Daryl knew that Nevara would sacrifice her own life for Savana if she needed to.

"More people in the city means more walkers, or would be walkers. By leaving the city she has a better chance of survival, and then so does Savana. It also gives her the possibility to form a group with others that may have fled the city before it was bombed," Daryl explained, almost as if he felt he had to defend his wife's possible actions.

The group knew though that if Nevara had left the city with Savana, then it was probably the best choice available. She would have got their daughter out of the hot zone, and into less populated areas. That meant less walkers, and therefore a higher chance at finding some form of shelter. And shelter was a necessity, especially for a woman whose only travelling companion was a four year old girl.

"Why are we even talking as if she got out, or the kid. They may never have left the city, could have been killed when the napalm was dropped, or ripped apart by bloody walkers. Hell, let's not forget the possibility of her abandoning the kid to save herself. No point looking at all the positives and non of the negatives." Shane spoke up from the end of the table. Clearly the wine had gone to his head as he didn't seem to care that Daryl would probably kill him for the way he was speaking of his family. Daryl hadn't seen his family for months. He didn't even know what had happened to them, and Shane was rubbing salt into the wound.

"Don't you dare make it out like my wife would just up and leave our baby girl for dead to save herself! Nevara would save our daughter before she even thought of saving herself if it came down to it. Hell, she'd probably sacrifice her own life so that our baby girl could keep on living. So don't you dare make it out like my wife wouldn't give a shit." Daryl roared as he clenched his hands into fists and rested them on the table, trying to push past the urge to beat Shane into a pulp, like he'd beaten Ed Peletier. Shane had pushed him too hard.

Nevara and Savana were some of the only good things in his life. Pretty much all of the good things that had been in his life had come from his two girls somehow. They pushed him and made him strive for more, to be better and to make them proud of him. He wanted to provide them with everything that they deserved, and he had managed to do so.

If it hadn't been for Nevara, Daryl would have never even dreamed of starting his own company. She was the one who spent hours going over every single one of his presentations and offers, just to make sure they were perfect. After each failed attempt at receiving a bank loan that he needed to start up his business, she was there, encouraging him to keep on going. She was there to help him with every single one of his projects once the business was up and running. She had gifted him with their beautiful daughter, their little ray of sunshine. But the thing she had given him that he was the most proud of, was his family. The very thing that Daryl never thought he'd able to have, was the most important and precious thing she could have ever given him. And Daryl knew that she would do everything in her power to protect their family for the both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to review with any suggestions for scenes or interactions between characters. Thank you.


	7. La Colazione

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just a one-shot based on a family breakfast with Daryl, Nevara and Savanna.

Daryl rolled out of the king sized bed he shared with his beautiful wife, he'd managed to convince her to upgrade from their double bed just weeks before, and it had been the best decision the pair had made. He'd lay awake for a few minutes before he'd heard quiet clattering downstairs and had decided to investigate. While slightly unusual, it wasn't a rare thing for the left side of the bed to be empty at only eight in the morning on a Saturday. Brushing off the red sheets made of a soft material Daryl scooped up a pair pyjama bottoms that he pulled over his black boxers.

Making his way down the stairs and through the living room, Daryl followed the noise of laughter until he found his wife moving swiftly around the large kitchen. As she continued to cook, she made silly faces at their young daughter who was sat in a sunny yellow highchair pulled up to the wooden table. A plate of blueberry pancakes sat in front of her as she giggled and tried to scoop them up with a small plastic spoon he name had been painted on to. Next to the plate was a small child's cup filled with orange juice and a small bowl of fresh fruit.

Growing up in Italy as a child, Nevara was adamant that they should all have a good and healthy relationship with food, starting with a healthy filling breakfast. She would get up early in the morning just so that she could freshly squeeze two jugs of orange juice for the day, and then she'd make up a bowl of fruit salad for each of them. Nevara would use different fruits each day, she didn't want them to get bored of the same thing over and over again. While she mostly did it for their health, it was also something that her own mother had done for her siblings and herself when she was growing up. She had taken to helping her as a teenager, and as such the process had stuck.

Today, it was a mix of quartered strawberries that the family had handpicked at a neighbours farm the day before, along with slices of green and red apple, plucked from the trees in their own garden, and watermelon cubes. Although she had added a healthy alternative to the pancake batter, Nevara still allowed Savanna to have a small amount of maple syrup drizzled over the stack of Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes.

As Daryl walked towards his wife he bent down to place a kiss on his daughter's head full of wild curls, tangled from her sleep. She grinned up at him with a chin coated in syrup and a piece of pancake hanging from her mouth as she blew him kisses. He chuckled softly as she giggled at the pancakes squished between her little fingers, and continued on to give his wife her morning kiss.

Pulling the jug from the fridge he poured them both a glass of the fresh homemade orange juice, and placed them on top of the coasters on the table. At the same time Nevara finished plating up their breakfast and carried the two plates filled with pancake stacks over to the table. While his were a bright shade of purple due to the blueberries mixed into the batter like Savanna's, his wife's were slightly lumpy in places as she'd chosen to mix banana chunks into her own pancake batter.

Nevara knew that her husband and daughter adored blueberry pancakes. Savana would clap her hands in glee whenever she saw the purple stack on her breakfast plate, and Daryl would grin and wolf them down in seconds. So although she herself was allergic to blueberries, she would still make them every Saturday for the pair just to see their faces light up in joy.

Once they'd both sat down at the table Nevara to a ladle and scooped two healthy portions of fresh fruit from a large frosted glass bowl and into two smaller ones. After generously drenching his own breakfast in maple syrup Daryl passed the bottle to Nevara who gently drizzled it over her own stack before pouring a handful of chopped walnuts over the top. Daryl looked around the table at his small family and smiled.

Nevara was eating her breakfast as she helped to cut up their daughter's pancakes while listening to her beautiful baby babbles with a smiled, nodding her head and talking to her as if she was actually speaking words and just sounds. Savana would throw her little arms up into the air with giggles when she managed to successfully place the spoon into her mouth, with or without the food still on it. Patting her tummy and then showing them both her empty mouth once she'd finished each mouthful, displaying a partial set of teeth, not quite finished growing. They would both cheer when she finished a mouthful, knowing that positive encouragement started from a young age.

He made sure that he never missed a breakfast or a dinner with his family, and he made sure he made more than enough money to support his family so that they could have the life he didn't get as a child. One filled with laughter and happiness, and starting with a full belly was the best place for him to start, because he hadn't always had that as child. Watching their daughter learn how to hold a spoon and cut up her own food after spending months feeding her with a bottle then a baby spoon filled with mushed up baby food was an experience he would never forget. Savana was his baby girl, and she was growing up so quickly, and as much as he hated it, he loved to watch her grow.

Even now, as she dribbled and opened her mouth to show him the half eaten pancakes she'd been chewing on for the past few minutes, he couldn't find it in himself to reprimand her. Instead, he lovingly wiped away at her chin with a cloth and let her give him a sticky kiss on the cheek. He loved their little family breakfasts.


	8. La loro Amicizia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nevara shows her friend a photo.

“You’ve been dating for almost three years, and yet I still haven’t had the chance to meet this mysterious boyfriend of yours.” The woman complained to her companion. She had a steaming mug of tea in her hands as she pouted at the woman across from her. It was fall and the two friends had decided to visit their favourite café, they served fresh pastries that the women couldn’t help but sample each time they visited. Nevara chuckled and shook her head, her almost black ringlets bouncing in place.  
“It’s not my fault that you’re always busy jetting off to random ancient places across the world at a moment’s notice,” she retorted while plucking a marshmallow from the mound of freshly whipped cream on top of her hot chocolate. The other woman frowned and rolled her eyes, pushing a short strand of mousey brown hair behind her left ear.   
The women looked to be complete opposites at first glance. Nevara with her long curly black hair, dark green eyes and hourglass body shape had a clear love for high fashion punk and rock era clothes. A pair of tight leather trousers were laced up the sides with a red silk halter neck top that emphasised her large bust and larger hips with a thick wide belt wrapped around her waist. She also wore boots, black leather heeled boots. Her companion, Jenny however had a messy bob that brushed her shoulders as she moved, chocolate brown eyes with wire framed glasses perched on her nose and a more practical style of clothing. A plain light grey t-shirt, loose camouflage shorts that reached her knees paired with work boots in a light shade of brown.  
While the pair looked to be completely different in all ways they’d been best friends since their first year of college where they’d been put together as roommates for their first year, which lead to them sharing a tiny apartment during their last two years of college as well.  
“I’m an archaeologist. It’s my job to visit all of the ancient and crumbling building and monuments. Along with the digs in other countries. However, I’m back for the next two weeks before I have to go away again so you have no excuses, I have to meet him.” Jenny told her with an air of glee as she noticed that Nevara was becoming slightly panicked, but about what she was confused. Nevara gave in with a nod, knowing that there was no chance she’d win an argument with her stubborn friend.  
“Great. We’ll have to go out for dinner or something, but in the mean time I’ll have to settle with you showing me a picture. I need to know what he looks like.” Jenny seemed rather excited at the prospect of finally getting a glimpse of the mystery man that had taken over Nevaras life with little resistance on her part.  
Nevara reached into her bag and began to rummage around for her purse, knowing that her most recent photo of Daryl was held in there. She did have photos of them both together on her phone, but she decided that Jenny should get the full Daryl Dixon experience before they met and he dressed completely different to his natural style. As she pulled the purse out she flicked it open and gently tugged the only photograph inside out from behind the plastic coating of the pocket.  
“Here’s the most recent photo I have, the other one is Merle, his big brother.” Without any other comments she passed the photo over to her friend and watched as her eyes bugged out from behind her glasses slightly and she coughed, choking on her latte. Nevara felt rather vindictive, knowing that the photo was showing a man that most would typically call a very rough and ready redneck. But she loved Daryl that way, when he felt comfortable and dressed how he liked without feeling pressured to dress up and look perfect, when he was being himself.  
The photo had been taken on Merles birthday. Daryl had taken his brother hunting for the day, and when they came back with a large deer, Nevara felt the need to document the occasion and had snapped a picture. Merle had his right arm wrapped around Daryl’s shoulder and the pair were grinning widely, their identical blue eyes staring at the camera. With his left arm Merle was clutching his hunting rifle and had it resting on his shoulder slightly. Daryl was using both of his hands to hold his crossbow tightly, causing his arm muscles to bulge slightly clearly showing off the amount of muscle and strength he held in them. Thrown over his shoulder was a string of squirrels, clearly noticeable from their bushy tails. The pair were covered in dirt which made their outfits hard to distinguish. They were both in raggedy blue jeans and boots, Merle was wearing a white wife beater with a blue flannel shirt over the top. Daryl too wore a flannel top, his was grey and black with the sleeves ripped off and over the top was his denim vest with the angel wings hand stitched on top. Their clothes were speckled with blood from the animals, though it wasn’t too clear unless you focused on them specifically.  
Laid across the ground in front of the pair was a huge deer that the pair had caught and then butchered after the photo had been taken. While most of the meat had either been frozen or sold at the market the next day, the pair had saved some of it and Nevara had cooked it up that night with the dinner she had prepared all day. A roast dinner with all the trimmings. While it was originally going to be a joint of beef for the meat, the boys had been so proud of their catch that Nevara chose to save the beef and use the deer meat instead, it was a pride thing, to eat what they caught. She had even made a cake for dessert. The boys hadn’t celebrated their birthdays for a long time until Nevara has come into the picture and demanded that the days be celebrated properly. So to celebrate Merle reaching another birthday Nevara had made his favourite dessert, triple chocolate cake with her special whisky cream filling between the three cake layers. The Dixons had a sweet tooth when it came to chocolate.  
“They are definitely not what I was expecting. Is Daryl the one with the crossbow? He looks how you’ve described him, somewhat.” Jenny’s voice brought Nevara out of her memory of that day.  
“Yeah, that’s Daryl. It was his brothers’ birthday so they went hunting together and bagged themselves a deer, which isn’t very surprising. They’ve been hunting since they were young.” She explained, looking at Jenny critically, waiting for some kind of judgement to cross her face. She didn’t want it to be there, but she kind of expected it after most people’s reactions to her relationship with Daryl, not that it caused her to break it off with him. No, it just made Nevara angry with how they judged him without knowing him as a person.  
“So he doesn’t always dress like this? He’s kind of good looking, not my type, and I’m kind of surprised that he’s your type. I mean, you could do better, but you could also do a hell of a lot worse.” Jenny was getting confused and muddled, clearly trying not to offend one of her closest friends, but she didn’t get what had drawn Nevara to Daryl in the first place.  
“He doesn’t always dress that way, only when he’s comfortable, but I wouldn’t care if he did anyway. I love him for who he is, not how he dresses, that’s not even a factor to consider. I’d say he perfectly fits my type, he’s kind and caring, he always looks out for my best interests and even though it isn’t needed, he tries to give me everything he possibly can. I don’t need that, but he tries and that’s all that matters to me. I love him for being him, and I know he loves me for who I am. He doesn’t expect me to change and I don’t expect for him to either.” Nevara spoke passionately, clearly she didn’t care about what anyone thought or their opinions on the matter, no one could stop her from loving Daryl, not even Daryl himself could.  
“Well, as long as you love him and he treats you well, then I have no complaints. I can’t wait to meet him at dinner whenever that is so I can get to know him too.” Jenny alleviated Nevara clearly not realising what kind of reaction she would have to a simple comment. But it touched her that her friend had found someone she wanted to have a life with no matter what, and that was all that mattered to Jenny, as long as the pair was happy she had no problems with Daryl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Chapter 8, for any prompts that you wish for me to use feel free to review with them. Thanks for all the support.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, this is a really short update that I wanted to upload while I am working on my main chapter which will be longer, and Christmas focused! I hope you all like it, enjoy! X

He gripped on to the hand. The hand that wasn’t connected to any other limbs. It was just a hand. But it was Merles hand, and he couldn’t force himself to let it go. To let his last known surviving family member go. He just couldn’t do it. If he buried the hand, then did that mean he buried all thoughts of being reunited with his brother too? With his wife and daughter.

He could feel that stabbing pain in his chest getting stronger and more painful as he gazed around at all the families that stood with each other. None of them could understand what it was like. None of them could dream of what he was feeling right now. Rick had known, and now he had his happy little family all back together again, unknowing of the darkness that had settled inside of his best friend. Unknowing of his wife and her actions that she had willingly committed.   
Daryl knew. He had seen them in the woods once, they’d scared of a deer, a deer that would have kept them fed for days. He had let them know about that later that evening when they complained about the lack of food he brought in that day. He made sure they knew how he felt about the whole situation and their lack of care over the group and its wellbeing, constantly running off into the woods and leaving her son alone. Who knows what kind of trouble he could have got into and she wouldn’t have realised or even known?

He had taken a particular amount of joy at those words, not because he wanted the kid to get hurt or anything. But because he knew that if that had been Savana, she would have been able to look after herself, and Nevara would have watched her like a hawk to ensure her safety. So Daryl took some pride in pointing out Lori’s bad parenting skills at that moment in time. She hadn’t taken it well, but she had started to watch her kid a bit closer. Or she made someone else watch him when she went off into the woods with her husband’s best friend. 

He made sure that he didn’t get close to any of these people. He knew that none of them were prepared to tough it out and survive, they all acted like it was just a normal camping trip. Some of them just didn’t seem to understand how dangerous the whole situation was, they acted like it would all blow over within a few weeks. They didn’t get that most of the population were dead, and there was no coming back from that. So he didn’t get close to them, or form any connections. He hunted for them, he wasn’t going to make them starve if he could easily provide them with food, even if he never received any gratitude for it. Hunting provided him the time and chance to scour the woods for any tracks or signs of his wife and his baby girl. 

So far, he had found nothing. But that didn’t mean that he was going to give up like the rest of the camp had when they spoke of their family members. Like Lori and Shane had about Rick, and look where that had got them. He knew his wife. And while Nevara had hated to learn all of those survival skills he had taught her, she did it for him. She knew how important it was for him and so she had willingly learnt. She would be fine, and Daryl knew that no matter what, Nevara would protect Savana with everything she had inside of her. In the end, he could rely on Nevara for anything, including surviving a zombie apocalypse.


	10. Buon Natale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit of pre-Chritmas fluff between Daryl, Nevara and Savana. with a bit more of a look into Daryl's life before Nevara and his childhood.

As Daryl walked into his house, he could clearly see that his wife had been too impatient to wait for him to get home before she had started to decorate the house. He just hoped that she had waited for him to do the tree. They always did that together. And this year their baby girl would be celebrating her first Christmas, not that she understood what was happening. But it had Nevara even more excited than usual, even Daryl was excited to see her try and open her presents, and to share all the celebrations and traditions with her.

They had gone all out like every year. Before Daryl had met Nevara, he had never celebrated a Christmas. He had wanted too. He had heard all the stories from other children at school, about how Santa Claus would eat the milk and cookies they laid out at night, and would then leave them with a stocking filled with presents for them to open the next morning. Then they would talk about the presents their own parents had bought them and left under a Christmas tree, and the amazing roast dinner they would share afterwards, like a family. Daryl had never had that. He never dared to ask his father or Merle why they didn’t celebrate Christmas, he knew what would have happened if he had even thought to ask.

He could have started to celebrate once he left high school and moved out of his dad’s trailer, but then it had only been him, and there was no point to celebrating on his own. The first Christmas he had ever taken part in had been with Nevara, they had been dating for just over nine months and she had casually asked him what he wanted for Christmas. He had looked at her like a lost and confused puppy, and refused to answer her. She had finally got the answer out of him, and then firmly told him they would be celebrating Christmas that year, and in future years. He had gone along with it, not really understanding what was happening.

She had kept that promise. Nevara had talked to her parents and told them about Daryl never having a Christmas and they were more than happy to help. They had sent presents over from Italy, as had her siblings and their families. Armorell had even knitted a jumper for Daryl with the words ‘My First Christmas’ stitched on it in a vibrant blue that matched his eyes, he had blushed when he opened the gift, but still wore it after seeing the pleading look Nevara had sent him.

She had decorated the house while he had been at work, and she had gone all out. There had been paper chains draped across the ceiling at different points to create a psychedelic pattern. Little ornaments had found their way around the house, there were snowmen, penguins, reindeers and Santa’s dotted around the whole house. But the living room was the clear focal point. The huge tree she had taken him to choose and then cut down stood in the corner next to the fireplace, where two red stockings hung on hooks, their names stitched on the front. The tree had been bare, and she had made him help her decorate it with lights, tinsel and a variety of decorations.

There was no colour scheme. She had bought new decorations that they could reuse and add to each year. A variety of baubles in different sizes and colours, some were glittering and some were patterned. There was also little ornaments too. Small glass figurines that she had them hang of the top tier of branches, and other sweet little ornaments she had found while shopping. She had wanted it to be a good first Christmas for Daryl, and he had been amazed at how much effort she had put into it.

The first thing she had given him, on Christmas Eve, was a special bauble. It had been made of glass and inside was a miniature replica of them both holding hands and wearing ice skates. Engraved on the back in silver was ‘Our First Christmas’ and the date. Following that, each year she would pick out a special, sometimes personalised, bauble or ornament for them to open the night before Christmas and place on the tree. It was a tradition. As was him having to lift her up so that she could place the delicate and fragile hand painted angel on top of the tree.

The next morning the stockings were full and presents were clustered into piles beneath the tree in a mass amount. The different wrapping papers used clashing together, but creating the image of what all the children at school had described. He would deny how excited he had been to open his presents, all of which he had loved, but nothing had held a candle to the gift that his girlfriend who had done so much for him had got him. A customised Horton Crossbow, his name had been engraved on it, and it came with bolts that had also been customised, their feathers in a light cobalt blue, as similar to his eye colour as you could get. He was stunned with the gift and felt that his gift for her was nowhere near as cool as this one. Yet she had adored the concert tickets he had somehow managed to find, to go and see one of her favourite bands.

Nevara had treated him that day, with a full turkey Christmas dinner and all the trimmings. They had pulled crackers, played board games and watched Christmas movies by the bucket load, there had been a variety of old films and newer, modern releases. And then at the end of the evening, they had danced in front of the roaring fire to Christmas songs on the radio. It had been the best Christmas ever, and for Daryl, no matter how amazing the Christmases that followed were, that was the one he had treasured the most. And now, it was Savana’s first Christmas.

It was Christmas Eve, and while their home had usually been decorated for weeks at this point, Nevara had been out of state with work and Daryl had been looking after Savana and working, so they hadn’t had the time. That morning, he had left the house and it had been in the same state as usual, clean and tidy with only slight mess, the dishes from breakfast were waiting to be cleaned in the sink and baby toys were strewn across the living room from playing. And yet, he had come home to a full blown Christmas grotto. Little lights were twinkling from the door frames and the decorations that were usually dotted around the house were still there, just higher up on the surfaces than before.

“Nevara? Baby I’m home,” Daryl called through the house as he kicked of his smart shoes and pulled off his tie. It had been a day of work in the office today, and while he thrived on having his very own business, he still preferred to be outside and doing the actual manual labour like he had started off doing. He made sure to put his shoes on the stand and hang his coat of the hook before making his way further into the house and towards the living room where he could hear his wife’s laughter and his daughters’ high pitched and adorable giggles.

“We’re in the living room Daryl. Guess what baby girl daddy’s home.” Her voice softened towards the end, showing that she was talking to Savana, who as loud as she was, was also terrified of loud noises herself. They would scare her and make her jump in fear, before she would burst into noisy sobs that broke both of their hearts, especially Daryl’s. Daryl hated the sight of her tears, it made him feel like he wasn’t a good enough parent. Even though, unlike his father, he was trying the best he could. No matter what, he made sure that his wife and daughter came first, and they always would do. He never wanted them to fear him like he and his mother had feared his father.

They had tried everything they could to ensure that their home was a happy one. Nevara had made sure that when they decided to start looking for a house after they had moved in together that it was in a different town to where he had grown up and been ridiculed his whole life. Daryl had a say in everything. In fact, Nevara pushed him to express his opinions on things with her. And in the end, it had worked. Their home was something Daryl had dreamed of during his childhood, a warm and inviting place that was filled with comfort and happiness.

Walking into the living room Daryl could tell that his wife had been able to curb her enthusiasm for long enough to wait for him to get home to decorate the tree. The rest of the room looked like a grotto with all of the decorations they had collected over the years decorating the whole room. Fake snow was spread over the mantelpiece above the fireplace and had little light up snowmen nestled into the powder. Three stockings hung from the fireplace, each of their initials embroidered upon them.

That was when he saw them. Nevara had her hair tied into two plaits with fluffy white hair ties, and she was wearing a rather festive dress. It was red with long sleeves and fell to just above her knees with a white faux fur trim across the hem and the cuffs. She was Mrs Claus. Red and white striped knee high socks lead to a pair of delicate little red slippers that completed the look with a little white pom-pom on the end. She was dancing around the room with Savana, who was wearing an adorable reindeer onesie, in her arms while singing along to the music that was playing quietly form the small stereo.

“And it’ll be lonely this Christmas, without you to hold,” he joined in as he approached them from behind the door where he had been watching the pair. Nevara whipped her head around with a wide smile upon her face, and Savana began to gurgle and giggle, bouncing slightly in her mother’s arms as she caught his eyes, stuffing her fingers into her mouth before Nevara could stop her.

“Oh Savana baby, you need to stop trying to eat your fingers sweetie.” Nevara sighed slightly, maintaining her smile as she gently pulled her daughters fingers out of her mouth, causing dribble to fall over her onesie. Daryl chuckled quietly, picking up a light pink cloth from the side table he walked closer to the pair and wiped away the drool. Leaning forward he placed a kiss on his daughters forehead, and turned to place a gentle and loving kiss on his wife’s lips, she responded happily.

“So, how was your day at work, I know you’ve been having trouble with that contract. I don’t know why you tried to keep it from me sweetheart,” Nevara told him calmly as she turned the music down and shuffled Savana in her arms, resting her daughters head on her shoulder as she moved towards the sofa, patting the seat beside her for Daryl to join her. He padded towards the most important people in his life and sat down, wrapping his arm around Nevara. Pulling her closer to him and nuzzling his head into her neck, he began to make silly faces at his tired daughter, who reached towards him with her tiny hand, making clasping movements.

“It wasn’t too bad, we managed to finally come to an agreement with the Mayor on the rules of the contract. I won’t have to worry about that anymore until the New Year when we actually start the construction work. The planning has been sorted for ages. I didn’t want to cause you anymore stress, I know you’ve been struggling to come up with ideas for your column, while also looking after Savana and writing your novel. I just don’t want you to have to worry, it’s almost Christmas.” He explained as he reached forward and pulled Savana into his arms letting her cuddle into his chest with a happy sigh.

“Oh Daryl, hunny I don’t mind hearing about what’s going on at work, I’d rather know than have you feeling stressed on your own. I managed to write up this week’s column while Savana was napping, and I’ve almost finished my latest chapter for the publisher, so I’m completely up to date. Either way, it’s good that the Mayor has finally come to a decision, it wasn’t fair for them to string you along like that, changing their minds constantly,” she huffed slightly as she moved to grab the throw and threw it over them, making sure that Savana was covered up as she starting to fall sleep. She loved being held by her daddy, and easily fell asleep when in his arms during the evening. It was a common practice for the trio to snuggle up together in the living room during the evenings. Now that winter had hit hard, they took every chance to light up the fireplace with wood that Daryl had chopped up every morning before he left for work.

Sometimes they would, like now, play a variety of different music in the background at a quiet level to fill the void. Savanna, like Daryl and Nevara, had taken to music from the rock and punk genre. The pair would play a multitude of artists and bands in the house from their radio, and while they would dance and sing along, Savana would giggle and bounce from her seat and clap happily along with the music. She would take after her parents when she was older, and Daryl couldn’t wait to take her along to a festival or gig as soon as she was old enough to understand what was going on. Other days, they would watch movies together as they curled up under the thick grey throw on the sofa. They would happily watch different genres, they liked the variety and the difference between the actors and the directors in each. These film and music evenings usually somehow made their way into Nevara’s latest columns when she would give a review or talk about routines with children and so forth.

“I know baby, but it’s Christmas, I didn’t want you to have to think of anything else, other than being festive. And I see that you completed that. The house looks beautiful, it reminds me of our first year together, and that Christmas. Have you got the ornament for this year?” Daryl asked her softly, ensuring that Savana wouldn’t be awoken by the noise as he moved into a more comfortable position, leaning against the arm of the sofa.

“Okay, I’ll try and forget about it, but I don’t want you to feel that you have to hide things from me. I collected the ornament this morning, and it is wrapped up ready for Christmas Eve. I can’t believe it’s only two days away. It feels like we have so much to do still, I picked up all the veg too, so we don’t have to worry about that,” she had snuggled into his side and began to stroke Savana’s hair as she spoke, comforting the baby who had begun to wriggle slightly due to the movement.

“Hey, we have plenty of time left, and we’ve almost got everything sorted, I made the meat order on the way to the office this morning and we pick that up on Christmas Eve. It’s already paid for too, and we sent the family’s presents off last week, so they will most definitely make it to Italy in time. We’ll be absolutely fine, I promise. And we can always improvise if we have to.” Daryl reassured her, he knew that Nevara could get herself worked up and stressed out in the lead up to Christmas, she always felt that they were underprepared. As soon as Christmas Eve hit, she would be fine again and would realise that they had nothing to worry about.

“I’ll try to relax a bit more but I feel like we have forgotten something. Will Merle be joining us this year, or will he be coming over for Boxing Day instead?” Within minutes she was already starting to fret slightly over the little details.

“He said we should celebrate our first Christmas with Savana as a family, so he’s going to join us on Boxing Day and he’ll bring his presents with him then, he said he wants to see Savana open them himself.” Daryl told her calmly knowing it would make her feel more organised if she knew what would be happening ahead of time, even if it was only by a few days. Christmas was only two days away and the couple couldn’t wait to share the joy with their baby girl, even though she was too young to fully understand what was actually going on.

“He does know that she’s too young to understand everything, and probably won’t be able to unwrap any presents, doesn’t he? I’ll make sure to pick up some of that cider he likes, I won’t be drinking this year, but I know that you two will want to.”

“He knows, but he doesn’t care. He said he wants to give her the Christmas that I never had as a child, and I can understand that. He still sometimes feels like he let me down as a kid and I think he’s trying to make up for that with Savana in a way. At least he’s trying to fix things between us, and he’s making sure that he has a relationship with Savana too,” Daryl tried to explain his thoughts to his wife, she knew that the brothers relationship had been rather strained before she had come along. But Nevara had helped him overcome his childhood and fix his relationship with his brother as much as he could. She had even spoken to Merle about everything, showing him how much they had both been affected by their father and his actions when they were younger.

“I know baby, and the fact that Merle is really trying means the world to both of us, and him having a relationship with Savana would be good for them both. We’ve both noticed how he has reduced the amount of drugs he’s been taking since Savana was born, this is a good thing and we should both be supporting him, especially during Christmas.” She gently reminded him of Merle’s process on the drug front, he hadn’t stopped completely, but he had been slowing down his usage of the drugs. And Nevara had seen him looking at the drug rehabilitation pamphlets at the doctors when he had gone with her a few weeks back. She had high hopes for him hopefully sorting himself out and getting clean. It would really show Daryl that he was trying to resolve their problems.

“That’s true. Shall we take baby girl up to bed then, she’s pretty conked out right now and it’s getting late.” As he spoke he began to sit up and move to cradle his daughter in his arms. Nevara shifted and stood, allowing him to get of the sofa and move upstairs to the nursery with her.

The nursery was a light yellow in shade with a beautifully mural of a garden scene. It showed a little mushroom home and a small fairy that looked like Nevara and an elf that looked like Daryl, the fairy was holding a little baby in a bundle. There were butterflies and dragonflies along with a multitude of other little bugs and creatures including a centipede with multi-coloured spotty socks and a ladybug with a top hat. The opposite wall had a set of windows with long yellow and white spotted curtains trimmed with white lace, matching the bed set on the wooden cot that had been painted white to match the room. Picture frames adorned the walls with photographs of the family inside and bunting hung from two corners of the room with the letters of her name hand stitched upon them in felt. A treasure chest sat at the end of the cot, overflowing with toys and soft teddies that Savana would happily play with on the fluffy yellow play rug that sat in the middle of the room.

Placing Savana into her cot on her back, Daryl gently pulled her blanket up to cover her legs and left it at her waist, knowing that she would probably kick it off in the night. Placing a sweet kiss on her forehead they both left the room, Nevara switching on the nightlight as she went. Leaving the door open just a crack they made their way downstairs and Daryl began to tidy up the living room as Nevara went to the kitchen to begin plating up their dinner that had been slowly cooking for the afternoon in the new slow-cooker her mother had sent over as an early Christmas present for them.

Moving towards his wife, Daryl noticed the mistletoe that had been pinned above the door frame to the kitchen. Pulling her to him as she turned away from the work surface, he placed a long and slow kiss on her lips, Nevara quickly returning the gesture.

“Merry Christmas Nevara, I love you,” he murmured to her as they pulled away and continued to just hold each other close.

“I love you too Daryl. Buon Natale baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buon Natale - Happy Christmas in Italian according to Google Translate.
> 
> Thank you everyone for the Kudos and Bookmarks, and Merry Christmas to you all!


	11. Amore Familiare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl and Savana have some fun together and Nevara has to take control...

It was quiet. Too quiet. Nevara couldn’t hear a sound, and that wasn’t as reassuring as most would think. With most people, especially most parents, peace and quiet was a welcomed reprieve from the hustle and bustle that parenthood provided. But for Nevara, she knew what kind of trouble her daughter and her husband could get up to when left alone for a few hours together. She remembered when she went out with her friends the week previous, she had a lovely time going out for dinner and had returned home to find Daryl and Savana curled up under a fort in the living room. A very large fort.

She still wasn’t sure how exactly Daryl had managed to craft the thing, but he had covered almost all of the living room with the fort made up of sheets. And inside, every single blanket, duvet and pillow had been piled up forming a squashy mattress that she had found Daryl and Savana asleep upon. The area surrounding them covered with empty chocolate wrappers and the odd sweet scattered over the place, sticking to the blankets beneath. She’d had to throw the blanket away when she found that the sticky residue refused to be removed, but she had still gone ahead and climbed under the blankets with her husband and daughter.

While her husband had always been a humorous man that enjoyed a joke and playing around, he had really found his partner in crime when their daughter, Savana, had been born two years ago. She was a mischievous little thing, just like both of her parents, and she was curious. She wanted to know about everything and anything, how it all worked and what it did. Daryl liked to indulge her with his little lessons, usually accompanied by an experiment that would take the pair hours to clean up later. For Nevara though, she thought the cleaning up was worth it to watch her husband be so lively, finally getting to do things he had never had the chance to do when he was a child himself. And watching Savana’s face light up whenever she found out something new, letting out delicious giggles when she found something her father had done funny.

Today though, Nevara knew that the pair would be cooking up some kind of experiment. It was a Saturday, and Daryl made sure that he always had Saturdays off work, along with any others he felt he could give himself. On these days, Nevara was gifted with a lie in. Daryl would get up with Savana and make breakfast, spending some quality time with her before Nevara woke up, and then they would do something as a family. It was a routine that they had crafted to ensure that Savana had nothing but good memories relating to her parents, and copious amounts of them too. Last weekend, they had gone on a family trip to the zoo, and they had all loved it. For Nevara, it brought back childhood memories of running around the zoos and animal sanctuaries in Italy, and for Daryl, it was another new experience, but one that he would never forget. Nevara tried her hardest to make up for what Daryl had missed out on due to his childhood, like Christmas, birthdays and family days out, and Daryl adored the fact that she felt he was worth it and cared so much for him.

This week, they had decided to do something a little bit different. Nevara and Daryl had spent the week picking out locations and events that they felt would appeal to not only Savana, but to them as well. They had taken pictures and made boards for each one, and had decided to let Savana pick the destination for the day, and today they were going to the aquarium a few towns over. Nevara knew that Daryl was just as excited as she was to go to the aquarium and see all the different fish and sea life. They had both thoroughly enjoyed themselves when they went snorkelling and scuba diving in not only Italy, but the Mediterranean as well. They had both found the sea life fascinating, and hoped that Savana would find it just as interesting.

As excited as Nevara was for them to go on their family trip, she was still anxious about what her husband and daughter could possibly be up to. Shuffling out of the bed she shared with Daryl, she slipped her feet into a pair of big fluffy slippers decorated with monster eyes and made her way out of the room and down the stairs. Gazing at the multitude of framed photos that had made their home along the walls of their home, she could hear laughter and giggles that Nevara knew belonged to her daughter.

“Now, what on Earth could my precious baby girl and her daddy be doing now?” She called out loudly as she made her way into the kitchen, ensuring that she made enough noise to alert Daryl of her presence. Daryl, with a slightly nervous grin, turned away from the oven that was currently letting out thick black smoke, traces of flour decorated his cheeks and hair.

“Mumma, we making cakies!” Came an excited squeal from the counter top, where her daughter was perched precariously, one of Daryl’s hands holding her leg for support, stop[ping her from falling. Nevara looked at her daughter, blinking twice, she noticed that Savana was barely recognisable. Coated in flour and cake batter, her wild curls were matted with batter and sticky, but her bright blue eyes shone with joy and excitement.

“Are you now? It looks like you’re having fun baby,” Nevara grinned as she approached the pair, picking up a cloth she ran it under the tap and began to wipe away some of the batter and flour that had stuck to Savana’s skin. Turning to Daryl, she raised her eyebrow in need of an explanation.

“She wanted cupcakes, and I thought I could make them. Clearly, I’m not as good a cook as you are, I think most of the batter got on Savana, she was pretty excited to mix and then eat the batter though.” He explained, gesturing towards the multiple bowls and equipment that littered the surfaces and were coated in batter.

“Yeah, she likes to stick her fingers in the mix, even when you tell her not too. You could have waited for me to get up though, I wouldn’t have minded.” She told him softly as she reached over to kiss him gently on the lips, only to be interrupted by a pair of sticky hands grabbing her cheeks.

“Love you mummy and daddy.”

“I love you too baby girl, but how about next time we want cupcakes, you get mummy to make them, yeah? Daddy can’t make them as well as mummy can,” Nevara whispered the last part jokingly, glancing over at Daryl who rolled his eyes before scooping Savana up from the countertop.

“I think mummy’s just jealous of our fabulous cupcakes, don’t you?” Savana immediately shook her head as she reached up and put her hands in his hair, tugging on it slightly.

“But daddy, you not put the cases in the tray like mummy does.” She told on him. His own daughter had actually dropped him in it with his wife, who was clearly struggling not to laugh out loud at him as he gaped down at his beautiful baby.

“You didn’t put the cupcake cases in? Jesus Daryl, we’re probably going to have to throw out that tray, and the mix is probably stuck completely to the tray itself.” She sighed in exasperation, hurrying to the oven and opening the door letting out a plume of black smoke and an acrid smell of burning to fill the room. Savana made a face of disgust and buried her face into Daryl’s shoulder.

Quickly grabbing a pair of oven gloves, Nevara pulled out the blackened tray coated in what looked like molten lava. Sending an exasperated glance in Daryl’s direction she placed the tray into the sink and ran the tap with cold water, filling the sink.

“How about next time I make the cupcakes, and today we’ll buy some when we go to the aquarium.” Nevara directed her comment towards Daryl who smiled sheepishly and ducked his head to place a kiss on his daughters head.

“Go and see the fishies mummy.” Savana called out, bouncing slightly in Daryl’s arms causing the couple to laugh slightly as they nodded slightly.

“Of course we’re going to see the fishies baby, we’re going to have a brilliant time seeing them.” Nevara told her with a soft smile as she strokes some of her hair from her face, placing a kiss upon her cheek and smiles towards Daryl, clearly forgiving him for the mess he’d made, and he grins back, knowing he’s been forgiven.

“Hey Savana, maybe we can find a fishie to bring home with us.” The glare Nevara sends him is a clear argument against that idea, and he grins at the fact that he has got his own back for the failure of the cupcakes.

“Or, maybe we can get you some pictures of the fishies and possibly even a toy?” It was clear that Nevara was trying to subtly portray her disapproval of that idea, but to no avail.

“We getting a fishie, we getting a fishie!”

“Looks like we’re getting a fish then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much everyone for all of the support, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the future ones I plan to give you all. X


	12. Lora Luna Di Miele

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl and Nevara spend some quality time together, on their honeymoon...

Nevara let out a gentle sigh as she leant back in the deluxe claw foot bath tub, the crackling of bubbles invading her ears as the scent of lavender permeated around the room. With her feet propped up to rest on the rim of the tub, her body began to sag with relief as she relaxed from a busy and fun filled day.

A deep and husky chuckle echoed from the doorway and broke her from her thoughts filled with images of the events ahead of her that she still had to look forward to. They had been filled with love as she reminisced over the romance filled day she had spent with Daryl. And yet it was still only the start of two fabulous and calming weeks together.

"Too tired to wait for your husband to join you?" Came the lust filled voice of Daryl from where he stood, leaning up against the marble doorframe. In his hand, he held a bottle of rose that had been recommended to them by the hotel's restaurant staff, and in the other he held two wine glasses by their elegant stems.

"Mmm, husband. I love that I can use that word now, what a lovely addition to my vocabulary," Nevara murmured as her head lolled to the side, turning to face him. As a smile formed on her face, lifting her lips and allowing a glint of her pearly whites to sneak into view, she began to sink deeper into the bubbles and the warm water.

"And I love that I can finally call you my beautiful wife, something that we should definitely be toasting to," he drawled out as he began to slowly saunter towards the tub that she laid in. gently placing the chilled bottle and glasses on the marble floor, Daryl began to strip his clothes, slowly and teasingly. Once naked, he slipped into the tub behind Nevara and pulled her back against his chest and groaned.  
Nevara leant back, her head resting on his shoulder as he placed delicate kisses down the side of her neck in a loving manner. They had waited so long to finally pledge their love to each other and in some ways, nothing had changed. They were still the same couple and their relationship had always been strong, but now they were legally bound to each other, it was just another aspect of showing their love for each other and their future together.

"Well then, let's make a toast to each other, to our beautiful marriage, and to the amazing future we're going to have. May we have a brilliant and fulfilled life, together." Nevara spoke softly, almost in a whisper as she gazed into Daryl's piercing blue eyes with conviction as he began to fill their glasses.

As Daryl passed her the glass, he clasped her hand in his, placing a sweet kiss upon the wedding band that sat proudly upon the third finger of her left hand, next to the engagement ring he had picked out. He remembered the hours in which they had agonised over the wedding bands, wanting them to be perfect for not only the occasion, but to be a perfect depiction of them.

In the end, she had picked out a perfectly modern, yet simplistic wedding band. It was subtle, with a platinum band and a gentle twist in the design to reveal the diamonds laid into the band. It was delicate and classic with a beautiful twist to it that reminded Daryl of exactly who his wife was, it suited her perfectly. To match, Daryl had opted for a simple platinum band with no decoration or added extras, bar an engraving of their names on the inside of the bands. He had wanted something simplistic whilst still showing his love for his amazing wife who had drastically changed his world and life for the better.

"We're gonna' have an amazing future together, no doubts about it. To love, marriage and our future together. May it be filled with love, happiness and maybe even some little ones in a few years." Daryl chuckled softly as he spoke and began to gently nuzzle his face into his wife's neck and hair as she laughed loudly.

"Already thinking about mini Daryl's in the future, are you? I'd never have thought of marriage with anyone other than you, and I could never even dream of a future without you. You're everything to me Daryl." She spoke honestly, without any hesitation as they both began to sip from the glasses of rose in their hands.

"I love you more than anything Nevara, and I could never see myself with anyone other than you. Merle even loves you, and that's saying something. Being here, in the Bahamas with you, on our honeymoon, that's something I could have never even dreamed of happening to me as a child. Especially with the childhood I had. You've helped me in ways that you don't even realise, and I could never ask for more in my life than to be with you."

Daryl spoke honestly and it was evidently clear that he didn't want to delve any deeper into his explosive, and mostly violent past. He still rarely talked the relationship he had with his father and how he had been treated in his childhood, but he knew that if he ever needed to talk, Nevara was always there for him to talk to.

He had finally been able to get to the point in his life where he wasn't scared to show his love and devotion for Nevara as his wife, and someone that he treasured above all else. She had been with him for a few years now, and she always pushed him to be the best that he could be no matter what, and she always accepted him for who he was, all his flaws included. There had never been a time where he questioned how she truly felt for him, and he was sure there never would be.


	13. Paure di gravidanza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl experiences pregnancy fears...

"Daryl, what on earth are you doing?" The statement was said so incredulously that Daryl had to look up to see why his wife was questioning his clear actions.

Nevara was stood, leaning up against the living room door frame, simply dressed in a blue woollen dress, she had never looked as good as she did then in his eyes. Her eyes shone brightly, and her hair fell in knotted and tangled waves, once again she had been feeling rough, causing her to fall asleep on the sofa at lunch time. This left Daryl with some extra time to go about fixing up the house the way he felt it should be.

"Baby proofin' the house, why you asking?"

"I was just hoping that I was hallucinating or something, why did you buy so many baby gates? The baby isn't even here yet, let alone able to crawl or walk." The way she looked at him made him duck his head slightly as his cheeks began to flush with embarrassment. He peeked up through his eyelashes and looked at her in a way he had never looked at her before, it was a mixture of adoration and love, along with a hint of protectiveness and something else.

"Why are you looking at me like that, have I done something wrong?" She moved closer towards him, a hand gently resting upon her swollen stomach, the main proof of their baby and her growth within Nevara.  


Daryl stood, moving towards her and enveloping her within his arms, his cheek coming to rest upon the top of her head, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Breathing in the scent of Nevara, one that was so distinctive to her that he had never smelled it before, he couldn't see himself ever being without her.

Daryl couldn't imagine what his life would be like now if he had never met Nevara. He would probably have never let himself become involved in a committed relationship, let alone get married, and having a baby, creating a family would have been a pipe dream. Everything he was in life had stemmed from him meeting Nevara and letting her become involved and immersed in his life. Daryl knew that if he had never become involved with Nevara that he would never have had the confidence to build and develop his own business, to make something of himself and his name.

"I just want her to be safe, my dad never cared about me and Merle, I want our baby girl to know that I care about her. I want her to know that her safety is important to me and that I'll always be there for her. Don't want her to think I don't give a shit about her."

Nevara knew that it took a lot for Daryl to express his insecurities and inner thoughts, he had become better over the years at expressing himself, but he still struggled with putting his feelings into words. For him to tell her that he feared being like his dad, that meant a lot to Nevara. The fact that he felt she wouldn't judge him for his fears helped her to know that she had made the right decision in entering his life years ago.  


"You're going to be a great dad Daryl, the fact that you cared enough about our baby to buy so many baby proofing books and tools, shows me that. You could never be like your father, even if you tried to be, you will always have a pure and good soul beneath your rough and tough exterior, and that will never change. I will always love you for that." Taking his face between her hands she spoke directly to him, green eyes meeting blue, making him hear her words and not brush them off.

"How can you know? How can you know that I won't ever turn out like him?" The words were spoken so quietly, fearfully. His voice full of shame, but there was that hint of hope, the flickering flame of anticipation, waiting to be lit. Nevara knew how to stoke the flame, how to bring it to life and show him the world that was at his fingertips. She was just waiting for him to grasp his future, take it by horns and run with it.  


"How can I know? I know that you wont ever be like your father because I know you. I know that no matter what, you will always do what you need to, to provide for us. You always put yourself before us, and you always make sure that I'm taken care of, and I know you'll do the same for our little girl. You spent hours decorating her nursery, making it perfect for her, and putting all these baby proof locks and tools around the house. That's how I know you're never going to be like your father, because you care for and love us." She could see that it had began to sink in as he nodded at her, leaning in to place a gentle kiss upon her lips.

"I love you so much Nevara. I will always love you, and I can't wait for the baby to arrive."

Daryl's hands moved towards her stomach, placing his hand on the bump and rubbing it softly, while placing a kiss upon his wife's lips. He knew that this wouldn't be the last time that he would fear his own ability to be a good father for his daughter. At the same time, he also knew Nevara would always be there to support him and help him realise his potential as a father for his baby girl when she arrived.


	14. Fiducia e Domande

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl needs to ask Nevara a question...

They were slowly making their way through the woodlands that surrounded their home. Each step was judged and determined carefully, weighing up the positive and negatives as to whether it would impact the task at hand. Leaves crumbled around them as they fell from their trees upon the floor around them. 

The couple began to make their way through a thicket of shrubbery and bushes, moving towards a clearing that they had encountered a few weeks beforehand when they had decided to take a hunting trip. This time, they were out in the woods for a romantic weekend of camping, or at least that was how Daryl had labelled it.

He had planned to show his girlfriend the ins and outs of being a Dixon, starting with their penchant of spending mass quantities of time within the surrounding woodlands, living of the land and surviving with little. Nevara had been sceptical of the whole thing, but seeing Daryl get so excited as they packed up the truck, she knew that she would give the experience a chance and try to enjoy it, for him.

far, they had spent hours traipsing around the woods searching for the perfect place to set up their camp, Daryl had been adamant on them camping in the perfect little clearing they had found, and not in any old camping grounds. He wanted them to immerse themselves in the nature that surrounded them, to live it rough and tough, and Nevara was willing to do pretty much anything for Daryl when it came down to it.  
Moving into the clearing, Nevara noted that there was already a tent set up in the middle of it, and that there were fairy lights covering the outside of the tent and the small canopy that was attached. Underneath, she recognised the lawn set that they had bought a few weeks beforehand, and a lit fire pit waiting for them, with a cooler perched next to it.

“Daryl, what is all of this? I thought you were carrying the tent with you now?” Nevara questioned him as she stopped and stared at her boyfriend in confusion. A small grin tugged at Daryl’s lips as he turned to face his girlfriend, he had hoped that she would be surprised by his gesture, and it seemed to have worked well. He’d been a bit worried that she wouldn’t enjoy their trip, so he made sure to come out earlier that afternoon and set up the campsite for them in advance, to make the trip more romantic for Nevara.

“I wanted to thank you for coming out here with me, I know hunting isn’t really your thing, but you still came, and I thought if the campsite was a bit more romantic and homely then you’d enjoy yourself more.”

“Daryl, I don’t need fairy lights to enjoy myself with you, and yes, hunting may not be my cup of tea, but I love you and I will come hunting with you anytime if it makes you happy.”

“Does that mean you don’t like it, I can take it down if you don’t,” Daryl began to move towards the tent, ready to rip down all the decorations he’d worked on putting up, frustration taking over his body.

“Daryl don’t, I love it. Honestly, its beautiful, and the most romantic thing you, or anyone has ever done for me, please don’t rip it down.” Moving towards him, she grasped his hands in hers and held them against her heart as she spoke to him, ensuring that he didn’t damage all his arduous work.

Enveloping her in his arms, Daryl placed a chaste kiss upon her head before looking over the campsite he had spent the afternoon creating. The fairy lights twinkled warmly against a backdrop of dark green woodland, creating an atmosphere that he knew Nevara would find calming. The fire was roaring, sending small sparks off into multiple directions while omitting a heat around the campsite that was undeniably welcome. He had done pretty well with trying to create a romantic setting.

“You sure it isn’t too much?” He grumbled into her hair as she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning up to pepper his face with light and delicate kisses. He loved how affectionate she could be with him, but sometimes it could make him feel uncomfortable and unworthy.

“I’m positive Daryl, it’s amazing. I just can’t imagine how much work and time this must have taken you,” she began to fret as she gazed up into his bright blue eyes, “I hope you aren’t too tired, we have a lot of plans for this evening and tomorrow.”

“How about we start with making some smores? I know you love them,” he teased as he picked her up and carried her towards the fire and placing her down gently on the log he had positioned beside the fire earlier that day.

“Yes, you really pulled out all the stops, didn’t you?” She grinned up at him as he reached behind her to pick up the cooler bag he had left behind. Unzipping it, he reached inside and grabbed a packet of marshmallows and some mini chocolate bars, depositing them in her lap with a stern glance, warning her not to eat them yet.

“You’re worth it, and don’t you dare eat them marshmallows like I know you’re about to. I didn’t bring any spares,” as he reached into the rucksack he had been carrying for the crackers to sandwich the chocolate and marshmallows together, Daryl heard the crackling of a plastic bag being opened and shot his head round to eye his girlfriend up.

“I was only going to test them to make sure they were good to eat.” Nevara pouted and stared at her boyfriend with big wide eyes, pleading with him to give in and let her eat the sweet and fluffy morsels of goodness.  
“No, you were going to eat the whole pack and then complain that there isn’t any left for smores. I know you well enough Nevara,” she looked down before sending a blinding grin his way, knowing that there was no tangible way to deny the fact that she had been hoping to sneak some marshmallows before he could notice. Trust Nevara to forget that Daryl was a hunter and could hear anything from anywhere.

“Fine, but they would have totally been worth it, now hurry, we need to cook these delicious things now, I’m starving Daryl!” there was a hint of mischievousness in her voice, letting him know that she was messing with him. 

“Alright then, now you can open the chocolate and the marshmallows, you sneaky little thing,” unwrapping the crackers Daryl placed them on a paper plate that had also been in the rucksack he had been carrying.

The pair began to stack the marshmallows and the chocolate between the crackers, before skewering them onto wooden sticks that Daryl had stripped the bark from earlier that day with his hunting knife. Placing the shore stacked sticks within the tips of flames, the couple watched as the chocolate began to melt and the marshmallows bubbled and caramelised, before pulling them from the flames.

Nevara gently leant against Daryl, resting her head on his shoulder and staring up at him as they removed the smores from the sticks and began to eat them. Mouths coated in melted chocolate, and fingers smothered in the stickiness of marshmallows the couple began to laugh as they shared a messy, yet delicate kiss.

For Daryl, this was something he had never been able to do during his childhood. His old man would have beat him if he had ever been childish and made smores, they never had the money to splurge on stuff like that, and if they did, then his dad had drunk it away in one of his drinking binges. For Nevara, it was just nice to see that Daryl could release his inner child around her and felt comfortable in doing so. It had taken a long time for him to finally realise that it was okay to let out his inner child, and Nevara was happy that Daryl had become so much more confident since they began to date just under a year ago.

“So, was there an actual reason behind this beautifully romantic evening in the woods with smores and fairy lights? “Nevara was enjoying the evening and couldn’t believe how thoughtful Daryl had been in the setting up of the campsite that morning, but she still felt that there was something she was missing. 

“Well,” Daryl blushed and began to focus his gaze upon the fire in front of them, his voice shook slightly, and his confidence began to wane slightly as he thought of asking her the question that had been floating around his head over the past few weeks. Nevara knew that she had been right, and that there had been another reason behind this hunting trip, and she knew that she was going to get to the bottom of it, and soon. 

“Daryl, whatever you have to say, then you can say it. I’m never going to put you down for your opinions or turn down any questions you have.” Making sure that he looked her directly in the eye, Nevara tried to convey the truth behind her statement, and it seemed to work, as Daryl took a deep breath and built himself back up to ask her the important question.

“Move in with me. Please. I love you, and I want you to live with me, and you know that I’ve been working hard, and I bought a house and I’ve been fixing it up, and it won’t ever be perfect unless you’re there to share it with me. So, move in with me please.” It took a moment for Nevara to work out what he was saying, his words stumbling out of his mouth in a panicked rush that made them hard to understand. Once his words finally registered in her brain, she grinned, her teeth shining brightly as she looked at her nervous and shaky boyfriend with unrelenting glee. 

“I’d say that I can’t wait to see the house roomie.” They shared a smile and a passion filled kiss as they both registered the fact that they were finally moving forward with their relationship, in a way that they were both excited with, “I would love to live with you Daryl, this is just the first step of our amazing future together. I can’t wait to do this with you.”

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you Nevara. I love you.”


End file.
